Crossroad
by Sincerely The Sign Painter
Summary: It had been four years since Sion was kicked out of No.6 gifted program. Now Safu is going to study abroad in No. 5 and Sion will continue his life in the lost city. This is changed, however when a strange white haired man falls out of the sky who claims to be Sion's future self.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone! This is my first No. 6 fanfic so I hope everyone's in character and not too ooc. A quick thanks to my beta reader fullmetalangel3265 who is awesome.**

 **Ok on to the story!**

 **.**

In the narrow streets of The Lost Town in No. 6 two teens walked in awkward silence.

 _"It shouldn't be this awkward,"_ Sion thought to himself as he eyed Safu. He knew he had managed to ruin the mood, but he didn't know what to do about it. She had asked about what happened four years ago and Sion wasn't sure if he wanted (or could) tell her.

 _"Think of something to say!"_ Sion thought to himself frustrated, "This shouldn't be so hard!" It used to be easier when they were younger, when Sion was still in the Honors program before Nezumi came into his life…

"Cheer up!" he finally said, breaking the silence. "You finally passed the selection test and will be studying abroad at No.6!"

Safu's downcast expression changed as she looked up. An amused smile crossed her lips.

"You're jealous, aren't you!" she accused teasingly.

"Yep, sure am!" Sion said, smiling back, thankful she no longer seemed down.

"Liar"

Her smile was gone again, replaced by a scowl. Sion wished he could tell her that it was true, wished he could explain how he felt but that connection was broken. It was like they came from different worlds now. Would she even understand? Safu opened her mouth, probably to explain why Sion was lying, when there was a crash from overhead. Both teens looked up to see an old man fall from the sky in front of them.

"Hey!" Sion gasped, running over. "Are you ok?" The old man didn't answer. His eyes were closed and from the way he was breathing it was clean that he was out cold.

"We should report this," Safu said, reaching down for her bracelet. Sion stopped her. Something didn't feel right. He couldn't explain it, but he felt like he knew the man from somewhere. This situation somehow also felt similar to the one four years ago…

"We should bring him back to my house," Sion said. Safu opened her mouth to argue but then saw the look in Sion's eyes and closed it.

"Alright then," she said. "I'll take one side, and you take the other." The two of then heaved up the old man and carried him quickly down the street.

.

"Oh my!" Sion's mother gasped as the teens hobbled in with the unconscious man. She rushed over and helped them bring him in the back of the shop.

"He fell from somewhere," Sion explained. "Probably from the roof of a building. We don't know if he's hurt or not…" Karan quickly rushed over and brought the first aid kit.

Despite falling, the old man didn't seemed to be injured. Other than a few bruises and cuts he didn't have any internal bleeding or broken bones. As Karan took care of him, Sion looked at the man more closely. Now that he had time to properly look at the man he started to notice that, despite his white hair, the man didn't seem that old. He didn't have any wrinkles and his skin looked smooth. Sion guessed the man was probably in his early twenties.

"What a strange tattoo," Safu gasped. Sion's eyes shifted from the man's face to his chest as his mom unbuttoned his shirt to take care of the cuts on his chest. Tattoos were unusual in No. 6. The government frowned upon them, and only the elderly or those who just entered No. 6 ever had any. The man's tattoo was different from the few others Sion had seen. It was red and coiled around the man's body like a snake. Sion shuttered.

"That should be good," Karan said, buttoning up the man's shirt "Sion, can you get a blanket and a pillow? I also need to know what exactly happened."

Sion went and got the items. After the man was all set he and Safu explained how they found the man.

"Sion, are you sure this is alright?" Karan asked worriedly, "You didn't report this. If he turns out to be a criminal…"

"I haven't heard anything about an escaped criminal," Sion said quickly. His mother's frown deepened. Sion looked down at his hands.

"It's not like last time." He whispered, "No one seems to be searching for him…." He could tell by the silence him mother wasn't convinced.

"Last time?" Safu asked, looking from Karan to Sion. "Has something like this happened before?" Before Sion or Karan could answer the man on the ground groaned loudly and opened his eyes. Sion was startled to see that they were dark red. Karan came over and knelt next to the man.

"Are you alright?" she asked gently. The man looked over at her blinking.

"Uhhh, yeah I think so?" He said, giving a small smile. "What happened?"

"That's what I would like to know." Karan said. The man thought it over.

"I was returning from food shopping when I heard singing…." The man said, rubbing the side of his head. "I must have put down the food somewhere and followed it…It was so familiar…." He trailed off looking back at her. "So how long was I out?"

"Only a couple of hours," Karan said.

"Oh, that's good!" the man said more cheerfully, "He won't be worried then!" Safu and Sion shot each other looks. Nothing about the man's story made much sense. For starters neither of them heard any singing before the man had fallen. Also the man wasn't wearing an ID bracelet, nor did he really look like he came from No. 6. His story that he was going shopping did not seem to add up.

"Well, I better get home." The man said, pulling off the blanket and sitting up.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Karea asked worriedly as the man winced as he stood.

"I'm fine!" He said finally getting to his feet. Karan, Sion, and Safu followed him to the entrance. The man opened the door and froze. His small slowly fading from his face replaced by a look of pure terror.

"What's that doing there?" he asked, fearfully pointing to No. 6's wall.

"The wall?" Karan asked, confused.

"It shouldn't be there," The man muttered, turning around. "When did it-" He froze mid-sentence, his eyes resting on Safu and Sion.

"Oh no," he gasped falling to his knees "No, please no." he grasped, trembling. "I can't be here…This can't be happening…"

"Are you alright?" Karan asked alarmed. The man didn't seem to hear here.

"If I'm here…" The man said, staring at the floor, "No, this has to be some sort of dream…. This can't be real…I can't be….it can't happen…" He looked up at Karen. "Mom, please tell me, we aren't still living in No.6 right?...I can't be in the past."

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 **Have any comments? Suggestions? Did you enjoy it? Leave a review! Thank you!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter! A special thanks to** Nikita **for the review. It really made my day. Also a special thanks for those who followed my story. And lastly a special thanks to my beta reader** **fullmetalangel3265 who, once again, is awesome.**

 **Anyways on to the story!**

 **.**

Karen look at the young man sitting in front of her. He had finally calmed down enough to come back inside and sit down. She was still very shaken. This man had called her mom. It was impossible. Yet for some reason, a part of her believed him

"Excuse me." Safu said to the man, "But I think you made a mistake. She only has one son and that's him." She pointed at Sion who was watching the man curiously.

"I'm from the future," The man said weakly.

"That would make you Sion then," Safu said, unconvinced. "But you don't look like him. Your hair and eyes are a different color. Plus…Sion wouldn't get a tattoo."

"Tattoo?" the man asked confused, then he relaxed. "Oh, you're talking about this." His hand went up and touched his cheek where a bit of the tattoo was visible. Karan had to silently agree with Safu. There was no way this man could be Sion….right? Yet even as she thought of it, she felt doubtful. Something about his face expressions the way he moved and spoke that reminded her of Sion.

"It's a long story," the man finally said. "you….me…uh young Sion?" He gave a little laugh. "This is confusing. Anyways, has anything unusual happened at work yet?" Sion frowned slightly and looked down.

"There was one thing….I'm not sure if I should talk about it though.." Sion said, uncomfortable. Karan frowned. What happened at work that her son didn't want to talk about?

"It's the old man, right?" the white haired man asked. "The one you found dead?" All three of them gasped.

"How did you know?" Sion asked.

"What man?!" Karan demanded. "What happened to him?"

"We don't know." Sion said. "He was just an old man we found dead in the park…"

"You'll understand a little bit more tomorrow if you go to work… Of course, if you go tomorrow you won't be able to return home ever again…. Everything will change." The man said. Karan looked at the man worriedly. What could he have meant by that? Why wouldn't her son return home if he went to work tomorrow. It seemed like a cryptic thing to say yet….yet the man just looked thoughtful. Maybe even happy? It didn't fit the ominous statement.

"What's going to happen to me if I go to work tomorrow." Sion asked alarmed.

"You will get to see someone special…"

"Who?" Karan asked.

"A rat," the man said. Karen and Safu exchanged looks. The man was talking nonsense again and it was getting frustrating. A rat didn't answer their question.

"Nezumi," Sion breathed, a smile spreading across his face. He looked very happy. Karan watched her son. It was clear that this person was special to Sion but she couldn't think of who it could be. No one around here had a name like that.

"Nezumi?" Safu asked confused, "Who's that?" Sion didn't answer, he just smiled brightly. Karan looked from the man to her son. Both had identical smiles, reflection the joy that this Nezumi person seemed to bring them. Could he really be her son?

…

 **(Present time….)**

 **.**

Sion was late. Very late… Nezumi watched the second hand of the clock over the book that he was reading. He wasn't going to get worried. He wasn't going to get up to look for him. Sion would get upset again.

"I was just going to buy food!" Sion would complain. "You don't need to tail me when I do small errands! I can take care of myself now! Isn't that why you taught me self-defense?" Nezumi snorted out loud as he thought of that. He could hardly call what they were doing self-defense lessons.

After returning to Sion a year and a half after No. 6's wall fell, he found the place in disarray. It seemed that there were at least five separate rebellions going on at the same time. Small factions kept popping up to either kill each other, work for one of the rebel groups or pillaging anything in sight. In the middle of this mess was Sion. It seemed that most of the groups and factions wanted him dead, yet he was alive and fighting. He was probably the sole reason the whole place didn't collapse into total chaos. He fought, every day, trying to get people to work together. He was both very popular and very hated. At the time of his return, Nezumi knew he had to act fast.

He had decided that best way to keep Sion safe without having to tail him 24/7 would be to teach him self-defense. Although he didn't like the idea of Sion holding any weapon ever again, he felt it was necessary for keeping him alive. This plan failed, however, as Sion refused to even touch the knife. Their self-defense lessons degenerated into Nezumi chasing Sion around their apartment with a knife for three hours a day. The result was that Sion could outrun anyone chasing him and could dodge any knife attacks.

"I still wish he learned how to defend himself though," Nezumi thought while watching yet another minute pass. This was getting ridiculous. Nezumi glanced out the window and was dismayed to see how dark it had gotten. Although it had been five years since he had returned, and by now things had settled down enough to be called civilization again, there were still many people who wanted to kill Sion.

Nezumi slam his book shut. He couldn't take it anymore. Even if Sion complained, he was not going to sit around a wait anymore. Standing up and putting on his coat he headed to the door.

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 **Please review! It really makes my day!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter! I would first like to thank Unkn0wn.d0rk for the review. You really made my day! I would also like to thank anyone who is following/favoring the story, I'm glad you are enjoying it! And lastly to my beta reader** **fullmetalangel3265 who is awesome!**

 **.**

 **Ok then on to the story!**

 **.**

 **(Past)**

Sion turned in his bed to face his clock again. It had been hours since he had gone to bed, but he still couldn't sleep. If his future self was right, he would get the chance to see Nezumi tomorrow, but then he wouldn't be able to return home…Why wouldn't he be able to go home? Where would he go? Would it be with Nezumi? Where would they go? Did Nezumi have a place to live? Was it outside No. 6? What was outside No. 6? Although Sion couldn't say he was happy with his life now, it was terrifying to think that tomorrow he would be stepping out of his home into the unknown.

"It'll be alright though," Sion thought. "At least I know I will survive wherever I go." But then his mind wandered to his future self's strange appearance and he shivered. He didn't want to change. Whatever happened to him didn't seem natural.

Sion sighed and got up. He wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight after all. He headed quietly down the stairs and into the living space. Sitting on one of the couches facing the window was his future self. He looked up as Sion came in.

"Can't sleep?" he asked as Sion sat down.

"I have too much on my mind," Sion muttered, glancing at his future self. Future Sion smiled kindly.

"So, what are you planning on do?" he asked. Sion was quiet for a moment, staring out the window.

"Mom and Safu don't want me to go to work tomorrow," he admitted. "Safu should be home packing for her trip but instead she's staying here to try to convince me to stay."

"Are you going to stay then?" he asked.

"I don't know. I'm scared, but excited. I feel like my life is going to begin, yet it's going to end. I don't want to lose everything, but I want to see Nezumi again." Sion turned to his future self. "If I leave tomorrow, everything's going to change."

"Yes," Future Sion said calmly.

"Even how I look?" he asked

"Yes."

"How does that happen?"

"You'll find out if you leave tomorrow."

"Did it hurt?"

Future Sion didn't answer. He turned and looked at the window, at his reflection. Slowly, he touched the red mark on his cheek. "Very much," He soon whispered.

"Would you go through it again if you were me?"

"Yes."

Sion sighed and sunk into his chair. He wished he didn't get this choice. He wished he could just go to work tomorrow not knowing something would happen. He wished he didn't have to choose between his life here and the unknown, between his mother and Safu, and Nezumi.

"I think I might still go…" he whispered. "It's been four years. I want to see him again."

"Of course, you do." His future self said closing his eyes. "It's not going to be easy if you do leave but…nothing can change if you stay." Sion sighed and slumped down farther in his chair.

"What are you planning on doing?" he asked his future self.

"Me?" Future Sion asked, surprised, opening his eyes. "I haven't quite figured that out yet…" He looked out the window again. "I can't stay in No. 6, but it will be hard for me to leave. I need to do a few things before I go back to my time… I don't even know how to get back to my time. I don't know how I got here or who was singing. I need to figure that out, but I can't do that hiding in here…. I probably need to leave the city…." he trailed off.

"What's outside No. 6?" Sion asked curiously.

"Reality," his future self said. Sion waited for him to continue, but he didn't. They sat in silence for a little while.

"There are so many things I want to know," Sion said. Future Sion laughed.

"Nezumi always said I asked to many questions." He chuckled then smiled softly. "I miss him. I hope he's not too worried about me." Sion watched his future self. He seemed to be lost in thought again. He wondered what his relationship with Nezumi was in the future. He wanted to know so badly yet….yet his future self didn't seem like he wanted to talk anymore. Sion suppressed a yawn and stood up. He felt tired all the sudden and wanted to sleep, just for a few more hours.

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 **(Future)**

 **.**

Nezumi looked down at the bag of groceries sitting innocently next to a half-collapsed brick wall. The food was all here but Sion was nowhere in sight. Something was wrong. Nezumi narrowed his eyes and glanced around. He was alone and didn't detect any life…. Perhaps he should look at the ground around here if Sion….

"He's fine," Nezumi growled. "He's no longer a naïve kid from No. 6. He can get away from danger." In the silence he heard an owl hoot and the far away sound of someone singing. Probably from a nearby house. Nezumi started walking looking around for Sion. Somewhere in his mind he thought it might be a good idea to grab the food, but he didn't. Instead, he headed out to find Sion.

It was very late now, Nezumi could feel it. The night was still and there wasn't any movement at all. Everything was asleep and still. It was just him and whoever was singing. The singing had been getting louder and louder. Nezumi stopped suddenly. What was he doing out here? If he had come out here to look for Sion why did he go straight towards the singing without looking around first? The song was still too far to hear but Nezumi knew he recognized the song. It filled his mind and seemed to be calling him.

"Sion's there" he dimly realized as his feet moved forward without his command and the world swarmed around him.

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 **(Past)**

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Safu woke up to the sound of beeping. Groggily she got up and clicked a button on her bracelet. A screen pop up showing the face of her grandmother.

"Grandma," Safu said yawning, "Morning."

"Good morning to you to." Safu's grandmother said, frowning slightly, "I know you wanted to say your goodbyes to Sion, but you really need to be home packing."

"I know." Safu said, "I'll be back soon. I just want to check on Sion."

"Alright then," Her grandmother said as her face softened. "I'll see you when you come back."

"Bye." With that the screen turned off and Safu stretched. As she got up she ran through the events that happened yesterday. It was hard for her to believe that white haired man was really Sion's future self. If it wasn't for the fact that he could make the exact same face expressions as Sion she would of flat out denied it.

"This is crazy," She muttered as she pulled on her shirt. "It just doesn't make sense." She headed to the door and walked into Sion's family's living room. There she found Karan sitting on the couch, looking frightened. Her pale face resting on her shaking hands. Next to her sat Sion's future self looking lost.

"What's going on?" Safu asked worriedly.

"He's gone." Karen said. "He just left."

"He'll be fine." Sion's future self said. "You know he will…" he trailed off, looking uncomfortable. It was clear he had no idea how to comfort his grieving mother. Safu clenched her hands. This was not what she wanted. He couldn't just leave. She had so many things she wanted to talk to him about. She wanted to tell him yesterday that she liked him, loved him. She knew it was just her hormones speaking but he was special to her. With everything that happened she didn't find time but today she wanted to tell him but….

He had chosen Nezumi over her. Was this person really that special? Was Sion really that unhappy here?

"Who is Nezumi?" she finally asked. Future Sion didn't answer. She rounded on him. "Tell me!" she pleaded, "Who is Nezumi? Why is this person so important to him? To you? Why didn't you try to stop your past self?" Sion's future self didn't answer. He just looked out the window.

"Things will be really tough for him from now on." He finally said. "It's not going to get easy for many years."

"Then why didn't you stop him!?" Safu asked again. Future Sion turned and looked at her.

"Because, I don't regret it." He said, "Sion won't ether. He'll find things out, about the world, about himself, about Nezumi. Some things wonderful, something things terrible, and something things…" his eyes clouded over for a moment. "He'll wish he could forget. But when it's all said and done he'll be happy." Safu glared at him. His vagueness on the matter wasn't helping. It seemed to make it worse. What exactly was going to happen? Safu marched towards the door.

"I'm going to get him," she said. Karan and future Sion looked up, shocked.

"What?" Future Sion said surprised.

"I'm going to go find Sion," she repeated.

"You can't do that!" Future Sion shouted, looking worried. "You need to go to No. 5 and stay there!"

"Sion's in trouble!" Safu said. "He needs help!"

"He'll be fine!" Future Sion said standing up. "Nezumi will get him."

"I don't know who Nezumi is!" Safu said angrily. "How can I trust him with Sion?" She stormed towards the door. Future Sion rushed forward and grabbed her arm.

"Please." He said desperately. "Don't go after him. Stay in No. 5 until after the Holy Day. Don't return no matter what…." He paused, his eyes staring at Safu.

"I will find a way to end this without you being there on the Holy Day!" he promised, "So please stay safe until then!" Safu was at a lost.

"This isn't about me," she said confused. "This is about Sion. He's in trouble."

"Sion will be fine." Future Sion interrupted. It was quite in the room for a few minutes.

"I should open shop," Karan said quietly standing up. "If what you say is true…If my son is really safe… How will I know?"

"You'll get a message soon." Future Sion promised.

"Alright." Karen said reluctantly.

"Then I'm staying here as well," Safu said, crossing her arms. "Until I know Sion is alright."

.

Future Sion was impressed how well his mother was able to act like nothing was happening. He watched her talk to customers as they came to buy bread. No one would know that she knew her son was in danger.

He felt horrible about the situation. He knew that he had made it worse. He had forced Sion to make a choice and worried his mom and Safu. He knew it, but he didn't know what to do about it. He always hated when he was left in the dark. Hated when Nezumi did things behind his back without explaining anything. But by telling them they asked a lot of question. Some he didn't want to answer because it would scare then but others he didn't want to answer because Sion needed to figure it out by himself…

 _"Maybe that's how Nezumi felt."_ Sion thought. _"One question lead to another and a lot of questions are unanswerable. Then need to be experienced to fully understand."_

That didn't change how bad he felt for his mother and Safu. He knew that Sion would be alright…he remembered being in the same situation himself, but he couldn't tell them how hard it would be. He couldn't tell them that he wanted to die when that bee was in his neck or that how on the first day of wandering the streets he had nearly been killed. He also couldn't tell them that he had broken into the Correction Facility. No, he still couldn't talk about it with his mom even in his time. He still woke up in the night drenched in sweat and would think, for a moment, the he was back in the Correction Facility. He knew he wasn't the only one affected though, Nezumi would sometimes, in the middle of the night, shake him awake calling his name. He would only stop after he confirmed that Sion was indeed alive.

Sion broke out of his thoughts and glanced at the clock. It was almost time. He pulled his hood over his head and headed to the door.

"Where are you going?" His mother asked him, alarmed.

"Outside for a moment." He muttered. "I'm not going far." He walked out the front door and stood on the side of the street watching the cars going by. A minute ticked away, then another. Finally, he saw what he was looking for. A government official's car rolled past him. He got a glimpse of his past self struggling. Their eyes made contact for a moment and he nodded at his past self. Hopefully he got the message that this was meant to happen…that he would be meeting Nezumi soon. Sion went inside and walked to the living room where Safu was waiting. His mother joined him a few minutes later with sandwiches.

"Thanks!" Future Sion said happily taking one and biting into it. "This is good." He complimented her, chewing happily. His mother didn't smile.

"What was that about?" She asked worriedly.

"Sion past by a few minutes ago in a government official's car." Future Sion said taking another sandwich. "He'll be meeting with Nezumi soon."

"Government officials?" Safu asked worriedly. "What did he do?!"

"A lot of things at this point," Future Sion said, chewing thoughtfully. "Questioning the government, witnessing something he shouldn't have. If you add that he harbors a criminal willingly four years ago then it's not that surprising in hind sight that they want him to disappear." He stopped talking at the terrified looks on their faces.

"Ahh but it's going to be alright!" He said quickly waving his arms around wildly in front of him. "He's me after all. Nezumi will save him. He will just have to lay low for a while in the West Block."

"West Block?" Karen said looking even more frightened. "Is that safe?"'

"Nezumi will keep him safe." He said reassuringly. "You have to trust me on this one." She still looked unconvinced. Before she could say anything, there was a knock on the door. All three of them turned around to look at it. Karan looked around quickly and spotted a supplies closet.

"Safu, Sion, in there quickly." She said pointing at the closet. They hurried in and Karen closed the door. The heard her footsteps walk across the room towards the front door. In the closet they could hear the humming of voices. Although Future Sion couldn't make out exactly what was being said he caught a few words like "criminal" and "Your Son". He guessed that they were telling his mom that Sion was arrested.

After a little while Sion heard Karan walk to the door with the strangers. He heard the door shut and Karan sigh.

"You can come out now," she whispered. Sion opened the door and was startled to see how pale his mother looked.

"It's going to be ok." He said again as she sunk to the floor and hid her face in her hands. Future Sion looked around helpless hoping to see the rat that would bring the message of Sion's survival. He wished he could prove to her that it would be alright. He wishes he could do more. It was like the wall had fallen all over again. Back then his mother was also worried about him. She didn't want him to go out. She wanted him back, safe and sound. There was nothing he could do then and there was nothing he could do now. Suddenly from the storage room Sion heard a small squeak.

"Finally!" He sighed, rushing over to the storage room door and pulling it open. There was the small rat that he was waiting for. Karan and Safu watched as he picked up the small capsule that was in the rat's mouth and handed it to Karan. She opened it up and read the message inside.

 _Sion is Safe_

 _._

 **Please review!**


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